Criss-crossed matching design of the bipolar plate in PEMFC considering unavoidable assembly errors

Abstract

To tackle performance issues stemming from assembly errors in practical fuel cell applications, a criss-crossed matching design for anode and cathode bipolar plates (BPP) is proposed. The effectiveness of the proposed design is assessed by joint simulations of finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Concurrently, the orthogonal experimental method is utilized to investigate the performance of the criss-crossed matching design at various operating conditions. The results show that the GDL deformation rate of the criss-crossed matching design with error in practical assembly is merely 4.8%, significantly lower than the 19.9% observed in the aligned matching design. Furthermore, the criss-crossed design performance could be improved by 5.9% compared to the aligned matching design in practical assembly with error. The criss-crossed matching design consistently outperforms the aligned matching design at various operating conditions. Notably, the highest performance growth rate, observed in high stoichiometric ratio and high humidity, reaches 12.38%.